Optimization of grid-drilling using computer simulation

A computer simulation method has been developed to find efficient drilling grids for mineral deposits. A well-known ore deposit is used as a model to develop an efficient pattern for undiscovered ore bodies in the same area or in other prospects where similar geometry is suspected. The model for this study is the Austinville, Virginia deposit, a Mississippi Valley-type deposit composed of 17 ore bodies totaling 34 million short tons (30 million metric tons). The method employs a computer program that simulates drilling the model deposit with different patterns, including various levels of follow-up drilling. Follow-up holes are drilled in fences at one half the original spacing around holes in the grid that show ore-grade mineralization. Each pattern is drilled 100 times from random starting locations to provide a range of outcomes of drilling, including the best, worst, and most likely. For this study, patterns of 100 drill holes were composed of 10 fences spaced 1000–5000 feet (305–1524 m) apart, each with 10 holes spaced 200–1000 feet (61–305 m) apart. In all, 25 grids were used with zero to three levels of follow-up drilling. The 600/2000 grid, with drill holes spaced 600 feet (183 m) apart in fences spaced 2000 feet (610 m) apart, was compared with the 200/5000 grid because they represented contrasting outcomes. The 600/2000 grid penetrated many ore bodies consistently but with few multiple hits to individual ore bodies; whereas the 200/5000 grid inconsistently penetrated few ore bodies with many multiple hits. The 600/2000 grid was more efficient than the 200/5000 grid at hitting large ore bodies of 1,000,000 short tons or greater (900,000 metric tons or greater) and was made more effective by adding one cycle of follow-up drilling. The 600/2000 grid had a 97% chance of hitting one or more large ore bodies with at least one drill hole per ore body, and the 200/5000 grid had a 64% chance. Once hit, there was an 82% chance that the largest ore body would be penetrated by three or more holes when using the 600/2000 grid and an 88% chance using the 200/5000 grid.     

Contribution of storms to groundwater recharge in the semi‐arid region of Karnataka,India

This paper describes the application of environmental isotopes and injected tracer techniques in estimating the contribution of storms as well as annual precipitation to groundwater recharge and its circulation, in the semi‐arid region of Bagepalli, Kolar district, Karnataka. Environmental isotopes ²H, ¹⁸O and ³H were used to study the effect of storms on the hydrological system, and an isotope balance was used to compute the contribution of a storm component to the groundwater. Some of the groundwater samples collected during the post‐storm periods were highly depleted in stable isotope content with higher deuterium excess relative to groundwater from the pre‐storm periods. Significant variation in deuterium excess in groundwater from the same area, collected in two different periods, indicates the different origin of air masses. The estimated recharge component of a storm event of 600 mm to the groundwater was found to be in the range of 117–165 mm. There was no significant variation in environmental tritium content of post‐storm and pre‐storm groundwater, indicating the fast circulation of groundwater in the system. After completion of the environmental isotope work, an injected radiotracer ³H technique was applied to estimate the direct recharge of total precipitation to the groundwater. The estimated recharge to the groundwater is 33 mm of the 550 mm annual precipitation during 1992. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wavelet analysis of inter‐annual variability in the runoff regimes of glacial and nival stream catchments,Bow Lake,Alberta

Continuous wavelet analyses of hourly time series of air temperature, stream discharge, and precipitation are used to compare the seasonal and inter‐annual variability in hydrological regimes of the two principal streams feeding Bow Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta: the glacial stream draining the Wapta Icefields, and the snowmelt‐fed Bow River. The goal is to understand how water sources and flow routing differ between the two catchments. Wavelet spectra and cross‐wavelet spectra were determined for air temperature and discharge from the two streams for summers (June–September) 1997–2000, and for rainfall and discharge for the summers of 1999 and 2000. The diurnal signal of the glacial runoff was orders of magnitude higher in 1998 than in other years, indicating that significant ice exposure and the development of channelized glacial drainage occurred as a result of the 1997–98 El Niño conditions. Early retreat of the snowpack in 1997 and 1998 led to a significant summer‐long input of melt runoff from a small area of ice cover in the Bow River catchment; but such inputs were not apparent in 1999 and 2000, when snow cover was more extensive. Rainfall had a stronger influence on runoff and followed quicker flow paths in the Bow River catchment than in the glacial catchment. Snowpack thickness and catchment size were the primary controls on the phase relationship between temperature and discharge at diurnal time scales. Wavelet analysis is a fast and effective means to characterize runoff, temperature, and precipitation regimes and their interrelationships and inter‐annual variability. The technique is effective at identifying inter‐annual and seasonal changes in the relative contributions of different water sources to runoff, and changes in the time required for routing of diurnal meltwater pulses through a catchment. However, it is less effective at identifying changes/differences in the type of the flow routing (e.g. overland flow versus through flow) between or within catchments. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

胜利二号极浅海步行坐底式钻井平台防腐措施研究

本文根据胜利二号极浅海步行坐底钻井平台的作业和工作环境特点，进行了防腐措施研究，设计了切合实际的防腐措施。该平台在海上作业近四年进坞修理，经观测防腐情况良好。     

An evaluation of residential air radon concentrations and related variables in southeast Michigan,USA

Analysis of 153 residential air radon (Rn-222) screening measurements from southeast Michigan indicates that basements host Rn levels two to three times higher than upper-level rooms. Compared to unfinished basements, finished (e.g., paneled walls, tiled floors) basements apparently reduce indoor air Rn levels while partially finished basements may not. Factor analysis of residence questionnaire data explains 59 percent of the Rn data variance. The volume of pathways (e.g., foundation cracks/holes, uncapped sumps) allowing Rn seepage into the dwelling controls the largest portion, 23 percent, of the explained data variance. The residence water source explains 11 percent of the Rn data variance. Groundwater Rn levels contribute to the air Rn data variability, but the study data cannot quantitatively assess this contribution. Seven percent of the Rn data variance is likely controlled by house depressurization facilitated by residence structural properties. Residences with foundation cracks or poorly sealed joints and low-volume indoor-outdoor air exchange are more prone to this effect. Eighteen percent of the explained Rn data variance correlates with the residence's primary heat source. Evidently, operating combustion sources also induce house depressurization and allow Rn to be drawn into the house through entry paths. Twenty-four percent of the analyses equal or exceed 4 pCi/1 Rn. In residences occupied 5 years by the same individuals, 17 percent of the Rn data are 4 pCi/l; here the arithmetic mean air Rn level is 8.3 pCi/l and the average occupancy period 17.4 years.     

随钻测录井地质导向二维分解实时绘图方法

根据随钻测录井实时地质导向和大斜度、水平井评价成图技术需求，针对传统绘图方法存在的弊端，提出了将测录井信息、井眼轨迹和地质模型进行二维分解的实时绘图方法。针对二维分解绘图方法绘图时空复杂度较高的问题，给出了不同事件驱动下的局部实时计算和拷屏重绘算法，控制了对CPU和内存的消耗、提高了绘图效率，消除了实时绘图的闪烁和卡顿现象。应用实例表明，二维分解实时绘图方法能够实现大尺度随钻测录井地质导向图形的流畅、无卡顿实时绘图，可提高大斜度、水平井储层模型评价的刻画精度和时效。     

Physical properties of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks from the Sulu terrain, eastern central China: implications for the seismic structure at the Donghai (CCSD) drilling site

About 30 samples representing major lithologies of Sulu ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks were collected from surface exposures and exploration wells, and compressional (Vp) and shear wave (Vs) velocities and their directional dependence (anisotropy) were determined over a range of constant confining pressures up to 600 MPa and temperatures ranging from 20 to 600 °C. Samples range in composition from acidic to ultramafic. P- and S-wave velocities measured at 600 MPa vary from 5.08 to 8.64 km/s and 2.34 to 4.93 km/s, respectively. Densities are in the range from 2.60 to 3.68 g/cm³. To make a direct tie between seismic measurements (refraction and reflection) and subsurface lithologies, the experimental velocity data (corresponding to shallow depths) were used to calculate velocity profiles for the different lithologies and profiles of reflection coefficients at possible lithologic interfaces across the projected 5000-m Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Program (CCSD) crustal segment. Comparison of calculated in situ velocities with respective intrinsic velocities suggests that the in situ velocities at shallow depths are lowered by an increased abundance of open microcracks. The strongly reflective zone beneath the Donghai drill site can be explained by the impedance contrasts between the different lithologies. Contacts between eclogite/peridotite and felsic rocks (gt-gneiss, granitic gneiss), in particular, may give rise to strong seismic reflections. In addition, shear-induced (lattice preferred orientation (LPO)-related) seismic anisotropy can increase reflectivity. For the explanation of the high velocity bodies (>6.4 km/s) around 1000 m and below 3200-m depth, large proportions of eclogite/peridotite (about 40 and 30 vol.%, respectively) are needed.     

非开挖导向钻进实际轨迹的控制设计

非开挖导向钻进技术，具有施工速度快、适用范围广等优点，得到了广泛的应用。在实际钻进中，由于钻进在地下的不确定性，影响了导向钻进的顺利进行。到得钻进中当前点的顶角、方位角和孔深，通过均角全距法原理，可以近似地描绘出当前钻孔的空间实际轨迹，并确定钻头的位置。应用这一原理，同时运用VisualBasic语言和AutoCAD绘图工具相结合的方法，编制一套应用程序，可以直接绘制出当前钻孔轨迹，并可实现对钻孔轨迹的调控，从而保证导向钻进的顺利进行。     

硬质合金复合片齿钎具

运用力学原理研制成功了复合片齿钎头和复合片齿整钎，并批量投入市场。该系列钎具凿岩速度、寿命和硬质合金片齿有效利用率均显著优于片状和球齿钎具。     

Assessment of Lichen Vitality During a Transplantation Experiment to a Polluted Site

The present work evaluates the stress effects in two epiphytic lichen species with different thallus morphology, the foliose Parmelia caperata and the fruticose Evernia prunastri, as resulting from transplanting from an unpolluted to an air-polluted area. Lichen samples were collected in Portugal in a clean area, during the spring 2003, and transplanted (1) to the same zone nearby and (2) to a polluted area as affected by an industrial complex. Transplant samples were taken periodically during four months in both places. At the same time lichen samples from the clean-air site native (in-situ) populations were also collected. For each sample were measured the chlorophyll content, the chlorophyll degradation and the cell membrane damage, the latter represented by leacheate conductivity. During the experiment the meteorological conditions were registered. The results indicate the absence of stress effects of transplanting as such, and suggest that leachate conductivity may be the more sensitive indicator of general lichen vitality.